Organic farming is widely thought to be the healthy choice – not only nutritionally but because organic farmers are required (in general) to keep their crops chemical- and pesticide-free. But in poverty-stricken Gaza, people are more frequently buying conventionally-grown foods.
For the first time in history we have a real time, comprehensive global map of ecological conflicts thanks to the Atlas of Environmental Justice.
Many environmentally aware people from the global middle and upper class choose off-grid living, though that lifestyle is usually supplemented with solar panels and other accoutrements. But for the 1,300 Palestinians who call Masafer Yatta home, living with almost nothing is no longer a choice.
In 1989, a McDonnell Douglas DC-10 carrying 155 passengers and 15 crew members exploded over the Sahara Desert. 18 years later, family members built a memorial shaped like a plane in Niger, to which Libya contributed $170 million.
Central Istanbul looks like a war zone as shells of burnt out vehicles simmer after a long day of confrontations between riot police and anti-government protestors at Taksim Square yesterday.
Morocco Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, Mayor of Fez and Secretary General of Istiqlal Party Hamid Chabat, and security official at the inauguration of a restored synagogue in Fez. AFP Islamist Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane represented King Mohammed VI in an inauguration ceremony marking the completion of a 17th century synagogue restoration project in Fez yesterday. In 2011,[.....]
The Egyptian government announced earlier this week that a plan to bridge the distance between Egypt and Saudi Arabia across the Gulf of Aqaba is going to become reality in the very near future. A longstanding proposal previously rejected by former President Hosni Mubarak, a bridge linking the Sinai Peninsula and Saudi Arabia is expected[.....]
Israel now has relations with 44 African nations, more than at any time in the country’s history. “This is the dawning of a new era in relations between Israel and African states,” according to Lynn Schler, director of the Africa Centre at Ben-Gurion University. During summer 2012, a vast array of high-profile African leaders visited Israel,[.....]
‘Fun is important for humanity and without it, we are greatly diminished’ – Grant Shilling on why surfing is important and holds the key for the Israeli and Palestinian conflict During the 60 year conflict between Israel and Palestine, there have been some fairly ‘outside-the-box’ suggestions for resolving the hostilities. One of my all time[.....]
Case Study: A stable security state or a nation eager for reform? We look at Jordan and the strengths and weaknesses of its civil society Whilst Jordan may not have seen the flurry of protests that lots of other Arab countries witnessed during the Arab Spring, that doesn’t mean Jordanians are not desperate for reform.[.....]
In advance of the annual EU-Israel Association Council meeting on Tuesday, the European Union stated it will offer Israel upgraded trade and diplomatic relations in over 60 areas, including energy and agriculture. This offer will also grant Israel access to European government-controlled markets and enhance Israel’s co-operation with nine EU agencies. This announcement came almost[.....]
During a recent trip to Iran, EuroNews correspondent Ali Sheikholeslami found that many Iranians are becoming unwitting vegetarians as they can no longer afford to buy meat. Following international sanctions against the country’s nuclear ambitions, inflation has soared, the Rial has crashed to about half its former value against western currencies, and locals are feeling the pinch.[.....]
“Can I talk to you?” a man named Hashim asked as I stooped to take photographs of government workers cleaning up last night’s party mess. Revelers marching through Tahrir Square, surrounding streets and the 6th of October Bridge cheered and set off giant firecrackers well into the early hours of the morning following the announcement[.....]
Israeli diplomats and ministers have taken a quasi-Messianic tone as the Rio+20 United Nations conference approaches.”Our main message is that the world has the problems and challenges and Israel has the solutions,” said Galit Cohen, senior deputy director-general of Israel’s Environment Ministry. “Israeli innovation for the world.” Israel has a reputation as an international hub of green technology.[.....]
An Israeli Minister has submitted a bill for approval that would outlaw public nudity anywhere in the country except at established nude beaches. An outspoken opponent of Spencer Tunick’s September, 2011 nude photo shoot at a secret location along the Dead Sea, which attracted 1,000 Israelis keen to draw attention to the dire ecological state[.....]
A lion even more sickly than this one was stuffed and put on display in a Gaza zoo. Animals are among the first victims of political crisis, and nowhere is this more evident than in Gaza. The Times of Israel journalists recently toured the Gaza Strip’s unofficial Khan Younis Zoo and found mangled animals stuffed[.....]
Surprisingly they are inspired by Hassan Fathy: we interview Egypt’s Brotherhood’s Think Tank on Environmental Policy – A Green Prophet Exclusive The Muslim Brotherhood estimates that 70 percent of Egypt’s agriculture might be affected by pollution. And in a while they will probably be in charge. It’s time to ask them how they’ll remediate this.[.....]
Framing climate-influenced migration as a threat is dangerous and counterproductive is author Gregory White Around the time of the Copenhagen Summit in 2009, there was a sense that climate change was finally transitioning from something which only concerned hippy do-gooders to an issue that affected the entire international community. Everywhere you looked people were talking[.....]
Better Place is not doing as well as everyone expected, with financial losses running in the millions. The idea seemed flawless: battery-powered cars that could run on 100% electricity and could be recharged almost instantly by swapping batteries at special charging stations. But despite all the optimistic predictions, Better Place, the Israeli company that has[.....]
Making fuel subsidies a thing of the past may ‘half the global carbon target’, but politics is a real barrier to change in rich gulf nations Phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels could get us half way to meeting our global carbon saving goal – that’s what the International Energy Agency chief economist Faith Birol[.....]
Do you feel that the politics behind environmental issues in Israel-Palestine are being sidelined? A couple of weeks ago, Green Prophet reported on the news that Israelis and Palestinians were working together to build a restorative eco-park. It was a relatively feel-good piece showing that despite the political conflict, joint projects could be useful in[.....]
We speak to Greenpeace campaigner Raefah Makki about nuclear power, the Arab Spring and what she would do if she were president for the day Greenpeace is one of the most recognizable green organisations in the world and the fact that it has branches scattered across the globe is part of the reason why. Greenpeace[.....]
Catch up on the green stories from Middle East you may have missed this week It’s certainly been a busy week of green news and our team of Green Prophet reporters have been working hard to get the latest to you. From Lebanon’s embrace of the car to the continuing water problems for Egypt’s Nile,[.....]
Green is the colour in vogue as Saudis celebrate a holiday for thriving almost 110 years as a Kingdom. But why does 'green' mean clean, and what environmental pride does the KSA proclaim? Read more on why 'green' is more than just a pretty eco-colour.
The Israeli High Court recently ordered an Israeli sewage treatment plant built illegally in the West Bank to stop its work. So should Israel be thinking of building solar fields there? A couple of days ago, the Israeli High Court of Justice banned the operation of a sewage treatment plant built illegally on Palestinian land[.....]
The world’s most wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, was given the ultimate green burial. Read more on how Muslims bury the deceased at land and sea.
The biggest environmental concerns of the residents of Tehran are air pollution and water quality. The public awareness of environmental problems is of great importance in today’s societies. It is somehow more important than the governmental privileges. In Iranian society, this awareness is in shadow of political, economic and social issues, which look more substantial[.....]
The Iraqi Marshlands, which were pushed to the brink of extinction under the Saddam era, are slowly being restored to their former glory For over 7,000 years the Iraqi Marshland- also known as the Mesopotamian Marshlands- played an important role in global ecosystems by supporting rare wildlife and rich biodiversity. Located in south Iraq, the[.....]
As the popular Tunisian revolt which ousted the President Ben Ali dies down, the continuing rise of food prices is becoming a real concern for the region’s governments The reasons behind the downfall of the Tunisian president Ben Ali are complex but the high food prices, which brought the average person to the streets in[.....]
The recent riots that have rocked North Africa are not just about unemployment and political corruption but also the rising cost of basic food As violence spirals out of control in Tunisia and the death toll continues to rise, it’s clear that the concerns that are bringing people to the street are ones of basic[.....]
Passed in the summer of 2008, Israel’s Clean Air Act went into effect this month. As with its neighboring Middle Eastern countries, things can be slow moving in Israel sometimes. Maybe its a regional thing. But better later than never. While it would have been great if Israel’s Clean Air Act went into effect back[.....]
Who’s responsible for this Tel Aviv tree? The local Tel Aviv environmental committee. Some of the red tape preventing local environmental issues from being resolved has to do with the fact that national government has too much on its plate. Even in a small country like Israel, local issues can often be seemingly ignored by[.....]
The extension of Section 1603 cash grants for large-scale solar developments in the US – tucked into the tax bill – were dealt a blow on Saturday. This could affect R&D developments. In a rare weekend session, US Senate Democrats tried to bring up for a vote whether to reduce Bush era tax cuts, due[.....]
The newly formed Green Party of Lebanon (GPL) is planning its debut with the May 2010 municipal elections. The Daily Star reports that the GPL is a secular, environmental, human-rights oriented party bent on slashing corruption and recovering burnt forests. GPL President Philippe Skaff (left) told the Star that focusing only on the immediate political crises[.....]
After the recent Jerusalem elections Green Prophet hailed the new Mayor Barkat for placing an environmentalist so prominently on his list. Jerusalem Mayor Barkat not long ago presented his master plan for the city for the next two decades, and top on his list is to green the city. His plan focuses on environmentally friendly construction[.....]
Naomi Tsur The city of Jerusalem is steeped in history, stretching back to before the Bible’s King David ruled the city. Today it is a major center for the three major monotheistic religions — Judaism, Islam and Christianity, who all hold Jerusalem near and dear. But whether you are on a spiritual quest, pilgrimage, or[.....]
Israel has a new government, and this also means a new environment minister. The new one, Gilad Erdan actually sounds like he’s learned something about the environment before taking on the post. The hot news is that he has applied to Israel’s Acting Government Secretary to convene an emergency government session to discuss his demand[.....]
Little publicity appears to have been made in Israel regarding a proposed joint project between Jordan and Syria to construct a dam across the Yarmouk River. The dam, known as the Wihdeh Dam, will be built on that part of the Yarmouk that is shared by the two countries before it reaches an area now[.....]
It’s been in the works for a while. Finally, the new US-Israel agreement of cooperation in renewable energy was announced at the opening of the 2nd Eilat-Eilot International Renewable Energy Conference last week. The US-Israel Energy Cooperation Act is an international collaboration aimed at creating a renewable energy storage initiative to reduce the world’s oil[.....]
Eight months ago, Israeli environmental veterans founded Tnua Yeruka, or the Green Movement. Led by Eran Ben-Yemini, the founder of the student environmental movement Megama Yeruka, and by veteran Israeli environmentalist Alon Tal, Tnua Yeruka aims to marry the values of the green worldview with those of traditional left-wing parties, such as reducing the gaps[.....]
The battle for the Jerusalem Municipality may be over (secular candidate Nir Barkat victorious over haredi rival Meir Porush or, in my view at least, a choice between dumb and dumber), but the struggle for the city’s environment is just beginning. Last week Green Prophet told you that Naomi Tsur, former head of Society of[.....]
Israel Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra and his Korean counterpart Environment Minister Lee Maanee signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral environmental cooperation on November 12, 2008. Under the agreement, the two countries will enhance cooperation on air pollution, climate change, biological diversity and sewage disposal and will promote exchanges between environmental experts. Among the[.....]
No. 3 on Mayor-elect Nir Barkat’s winning list, Naomi Tsur is going to be spearheading any changes the city makes to beautify the city in the near future. Formal head of SPNI’s Jerusalem office and founder of the Sustainable Jerusalem, a coalition of 60 environmental groups is now going to tackle those same issues but[.....]
We’ve been following the recent green politics and parties in Israel (see our Re-evaluating Green Parties, Must They Be Liberal Left Wing?). And tomorrow the brand new environmental political party The Green Movement (HaTnuah Hayeruka) is holding a general meeting of members tomorrow morning, Friday, Nov. 14 at 9 a.m. at the Seminar Kibbutzim in[.....]
In the leadup to this week’s municipal elections in Israel, Tzafrir Rinat, the respected environmental correspondent of the daily newspaper Haaretz, discussed the local environmental political parties in his article “The Green Party – mostly bluster“. Since the other player in the field, “the Israel Green Movement” is brand new, Rinat evaluated the 10 year[.....]
On Tuesday, many Israeli cities will be holding Municipal Elections. In the run up to the Beit Shemesh elections, Sviva Israel was asked by Life & Environment, running the national Green Now campaign, to place the environment high on the agenda of all the Mayoral candidates. Working together with local environmental groups Shemesh Yehuda and[.....]
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0goOBK3zb8&feature=related Now that Barack Obama is on his way to the White House and the US seems poised for a “New Green Deal”, could things start heading in that direction in Israel as well? While on the national level, a new green party aims to secure a couple of seats in the Knesset, one of the outgoing[.....]
Friends of the Earth Middle East (FoEME) is a longtime advocate of sustainability and environmental peacebuilding in the region. Fresh off the pages of Time Magazine, where FoEME’s directors were recently named Heroes of the Environment 2008, FoEME is hosting a conference next week as part of the Pro-Aquifer project. Over the past two years,[.....]
Karnit Goldwasser is most commonly known as the widow of IDF soldier Ehud Goldwasser, who was abducted by Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement during the Second Lebanon-Israel War. Before that tragedy took place, however, she was busy doing things other than lobby for the release of her husband and his fellow soldiers. She was busy getting a[.....]
Since 1982, the American Jewish Communities’ Project Interchange has been giving a first-hand introduction of Israel and its regional historical and contemporary challenges to current and future United States and international leaders. This past mission has been focused on the greens. Just five weeks into the job Stephanie Hillman, Greenpeace Mediterranean’s brand new project director,[.....]
The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI) announced yesterday that they would boycott the 60th anniversary gala evening held by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. The reason? The Ministry supports the building of a new settlement, Mirsham, in the Lachish region. The SPNI and other environmentalists have strongly objected to the project,[.....]
UPDATE: DOV KHENIN’S NIGHT AT CITYTREE HAS BEEN POSTPONED TO MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15 at 9 pm. Dov Khenin, Tel Aviv’s greenest mayoral candidate, will be speaking this Monday in Hebrew at Etz BaIr (CityTree), which is on Bialik Street 23 in Tel Aviv. Khenin is currently a Knesset Member representing Hadash, a joint Jewish-Arab Communist[.....]
